What’s In A Name?
ARTICLES of GENERAL INTEREST
WHAT’S IN A NAME?
A short time ago Rhun ap Iorwerth was elected as our new First Minister here in Wales. Since then, I have been surprised by the number of people who have contacted me asking me to translate and explain his name! As for explaining the meaning of a name, this is not always possible! How would you explain the meaning of ‘William Henry’ for example? Suffice to say that Rhun is an ancient name of Celtic origin – which predates the 5th Century and is known to have been the name of some of the Kings of Gwynedd. It also appears in ancient Welsh tales. It has no translatable meaning as such but is associated with such words as ‘mighty’, ‘ruler’, ‘great’ – entirely appropriate for someone in the position of First Minister!
It has surprised me that so many people have been perplexed by the full name! Surely people are aware of the Patronymic system of names – used before fixed surnames were introduced – where ‘son of’ is the means of identification. It is a system used in a great many countries. Here in Wales it had been used for centuries until a change to fixed surnames was forced on the population following, to a large extent, the Acts of Union in the 16th Century. The Welsh system used the connecting word ‘ap/ab’, derived from ‘mab’ (son). In time this pattern produced surnames such as Pritchard (ap Rhisiart), Puw / Pugh (ap Huw), Benion, Beynon (ap Einion), Bevan (ab Ifan / Efan), Bowen (ab Owain), Probert (ap Robert), Preece, Price (ap Rhys).
Our Celtic cousins in Ireland and Scotland use ‘Mac / Mc’ of course. And in England, the word ‘son’ itself was added to the father’s name – a system which has given us today surnames such as Johnson, Robertson, Davidson, Thom(p)son and so on.
To return to the name Rhun ap Iorwerth! Rhun’s father’s name is Edward, the Welsh equivalent of which is Iorwerth. Apparently when he and his wife came to register the baby, Rhun, the powers that be refused their request to register him as Rhun ap Iorwerth. They insisted on a surname – so the family surname, Jones, was added. But he doesn’t use it. I have known a number of people over the years who have chosen to keep the traditional Patronymic system – Myrddin ap Dafydd, Pwyll ap Siôn, Gwyn ap Gwilym, Gwilym ap Robert, and so on. And one of the greatest European poets of the 14th Century – and who happened to be Welsh – was named Dafydd ap Gwilym.
Pronunciation is no real problem. Rhun – ‘Reen’ is perfectly acceptable. But in order to sound authentically Welsh, it might be interesting to know that in Welsh the letter ‘Rh’ sounds slightly different from ‘R’. ‘R’ is well rolled and voiced, whereas ‘Rh’ is unvoiced, uttered with a release of breath. Iorwerth consists of two syllables ‘Ior – werth’. Take a tip from the Irish and Scots and roll your ‘Rs’.
So there we are – the name Rhun ap Iorwerth analysed, dissected and explained. All that remains is to welcome the new First Minister and to wish him well – ‘Croeso Rhun ap Iorwerth. Pob lwc!’
Ann M. Jones